I finished The Double Bind by Bohjalian this past week. It's a haunting book about Laurel, a social worker at a homeless shelter in Burlington, VT. She was given a box of photos left when a client of the shelter died. There seems to be a connection between the deceased man, the photos, and the attack she suffered years ago in Underhill, VT while bicycling. The book was slow in the beginning; I was wondering what the point of the novel was. Bohjalian is an excellent writer so I began to imagine what scenarios could happen. I never thought of the scenario that did happen. It was stunning and heartbreaking. I missed several clues and/or connections in the text that I should have seen. I won't be forgetting the story of Laurel for quite some time.

2 comments:

Congratulations to Springfield in Vermont! Yes, we've even heard about this contest Down Under, because the Simpson's movie is due to open shortly.

The thing is, Springfield is a burgeoning centre about 15 minutes from where I live...in Queensland, Australia, yet we didn't get a look in! Still, Homer doesn't speak with an Australian accent, so I guess that accounts for it.

I read the article by Chris Bohjalian and his book sounds intriguing...I'll have to look for it in the library.